JBL New Flagship 4369 Studio Monitor Costs $23k/pair!

HARMAN Luxury Audio Group surprised attendees of the 2025 Tokyo International Audio Show with the debut of the JBL 4369 Studio Monitor, a new top model in the brand’s revered Studio Monitor loudspeaker line. (Despite the professional-sounding moniker, the speakers are intended for home audio playback.) The new 2-way floorstanding speaker replaces the previous flagship, the JBL 4367, building upon the success of that model with “a suite of acoustic and design upgrades purpose-built for the most discerning audiophiles and music lovers,” according to JBL. 

JBL 4367 Studio Monitor Speakers

The 4367 Studio Monitor has been around for just over a decade, and during that time has garnered its fair share of awards and acclaim for its dynamic performance and classic looks. (See our JBL 4367 Studio Monitor Speakers Overview.) JBL says that the new 4369 honors that legacy while elevating every aspect of its performance. The 4369 reportedly introduces new driver technologies and cabinet design, plus a next-generation crossover network.

JBL Studio Monitor loudspeakers have a legendary reputation in the world of hi-fi delivering ultra-high-performance sound born from JBL’s professional monitors that have been used in the production of the most culturally significant recordings of our time. The JBL 4369 is a true modern classic that bridges that storied heritage with today’s cutting-edge engineering. It delivers a breathtaking listening experience wrapped in the iconic design that has made JBL Studio Monitors instantly recognizable for generations.

— Jim Garrett, Senior Director, Product Strategy and Planning, HARMAN Luxury Audio

First and foremost, the JBL 4369 is built around a completely new 15-inch Differential Drive woofer (model 2219Nd-1), which features three-inch voice coils and advanced neodymium motor structure. This fresh design, which has been awarded a patent, incorporates a ribbed pure pulp cone, copper cap/Faraday rings, dual opposing spiders, and a rigid cast aluminum frame engineered to deliver what JBL describes as “superior excursion, reduced distortion, and exceptional control across the low to mid-frequency spectrum.”

JBL’s patented D2830B annular ring compression driver handles upper mids and high frequencies with its dual three-inch diaphragms and neodymium motor structures. The compression driver is seamlessly integrated with a next-generation Sonoglass High-Definition Imaging (HDI) horn waveguide, which delivers “strikingly accurate imaging, wide dispersion, and smooth response with refined detail and dynamics,” according to JBL. The drivers come together to provide both power and finesse, according to the company. The speaker promises to “faithfully reproduce every nuance of the source material with the kind of scale, realism, and tonal purity that defines JBL’s studio heritage.”

The job of making the two very different drivers sing with one voice falls not only to the HDI horn, but also to JBL’s MultiCap crossover network design, which uses DC-biased capacitors to increase dynamics, reduce signal loss, and improve consistency, according to the company. Dual front-firing tuned ports are said to optimize bass response, while IsoAcoustics Stage 1 isolator feet provide decoupling from the floor to limit the deleterious effects of vibrations.

This is a big speaker, so aesthetics are an important consideration. (Specs are not yet available, but the outgoing JBL 4367 Studio Monitor measured 37 by 22.5 by 16.7 inches, and weighed in at 119 pounds each.) The cabinet features a dual-layer front baffle and is offered in either Walnut finish with a classic blue grille, or Black Walnut finish with a matching classic black grille. Both are furniture-grade, real wood veneers. Like other models in the Studio Monitor Series, the 4369 features signature front-panel controls that allow users to fine-tune high and ultra-high frequencies, while the rear panel boasts a custom-milled aluminum terminal cup housing the two pairs of high-quality, gold-plated binding posts.

It will set you back about $23K to own a pair of the JBL 4369 beauties. The price is a bit steep compared to the JBL 4367 Studio Monitor, which sold for $15K per pair when we covered it in 2016 and $16,500 per pair when Stereophile reviewed it in 2022.

Unless otherwise indicated, this is a preview article for the featured product. A formal review may or may not follow in the future.